Suryagarbha 8: Bam po 8

At that moment, Venerable Śāriputra bowed with his palms joined in the direction of the Blessed One and said, “Respected Blessed One, please explain to us the dhāraṇī mantra that the thus-gone Glorious Essence of Flowers intended to confer here through the bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha—the dhāraṇī mantra that bestows faith in this great instruction of The Quintessence of the Sun, the peaceful core of knowledge that puts hostile beings to sleep!”

“Śāriputra,” replied the Blessed One, “I will explain this in the presence of the world with its gods. Therefore, Śāriputra, listen!” […]

The Blessed One then said, “Śāriputra, from far away, the thus-gone Glorious Essence of Flowers knows your inclinations and latent tendencies. He has conferred that dhāraṇī mantra in this buddha realm because you adhere to the perception of a self, your mind entertains mistaken views, you are thoroughly confused within the swamp of saṃsāra, and you are utterly deluded with respect to the eightfold path of the noble ones. In this place, although phenomena are selfless, immature beings mistakenly pursue a sense of self.

“Śāriputra, how do the wise ones investigate the self? They directly perceive it in accordance with the absence of self. Śāriputra, in this place, the wise ones should investigate the self in the following way: since these beings entertain the notion of a self with respect to their bodies, they should examine their bodies properly. How should they do so? Concerning the sense faculties alone,

they should investigate their eyes while sitting cross-legged on their various seats with all their faculties restrained. They should think, ‘My right eye is made of the four great elements. It is connected with ligaments and filled with water. Only the winds control its movements. When they enter the eye faculty, the winds cause the eye to roll and move. Those winds that control the eye and produce its manifestations are in turn supported by space. Space is inapprehensible—it is inexpressible and selfless. Just as space is selfless, so too are the winds. Those winds that enter the eye faculty, make it roll, control its movements, control it, and produce its manifestations are also inapprehensible, inexpressible, selfless, and beyond observation.’

“Likewise, those who investigate the entire eye by correctly considering the earth element present within the eye faculty, which is solid and the mere size of a banyan seed, will not apprehend a self. They will be free from doubts about this. The earth element is selfless—it is found to be inapprehensible and selfless. In the same way, they will investigate the elements from the water element to the fire element. By investigating the eye in that way, they will have absolutely no doubt about the fact that the great elements that constitute the eye are selfless. They will think, ‘A self that results from contact between eye and form is impossible.’ They will then also properly examine the winds and find that they have the essence of space. Having done so, they will not find a self anywhere.

“They will then think, ‘A dependently arisen consciousness cannot arise in the absence of conditions.

Based on the eye faculty and form, only the eye consciousness arises—it arises due to the condition of form. Name and form arise in association with consciousness, and the six sense sources manifest from that. They are followed by contact, the experience of feeling, the strong attachment of craving, appropriation, becoming, birth, and old age and death. Therefore, all these phenomena are dependent upon the eye consciousness. The eye consciousness does not come from the eastern direction, the southern direction, the western direction, or the northern direction. It does not come from above or from below. It ceases in the same instant it arises—it does not last until the next moment. It ceases, yet it does not go anywhere—it is without composition. All those phenomena arise based on conditions and cease when those conditions are incomplete. That which depends on conditions is selfless. Those conditions are also devoid of a creator, someone who experiences, a producer, or an activator—they are selfless. That which is selfless is empty of I and mine. Why is it so? Because such is the nature of the eye. Since it does not remain eternally, and since it is devoid of disintegration, it is devoid of I and mine. All phenomena are devoid of acceptance and rejection. They are not created by the hearers, by the solitary buddhas, or by the thus-gone ones. The eye is intrinsically selfless. That which is selfless is empty, and all phenomena are empty by way of not being apprehended. Similarly, by training until reaching the gateway of liberation of the absence of marks,

they will eliminate the foundation of attachment as well as all the afflictions that arise on its basis. At that moment, some of them will realize the first truth, and some others will realize the other truths up to the fourth one. The same goes with respect to the ear, nose, and tongue.

“Then, they will continue their investigation by focusing carefully on their entire bodies. Some will first split one of their hairs into fifty parts and then further break these parts into ten pieces. They will then repeat that process with each of their hairs, reaching the conviction that a self cannot be found within those hairs. They will then apply the same observation to their skin, flesh, blood, phlegm, ligaments, bowels, brains, bones, marrow, and bile. They will also focus their attention, in the way that has been described before, on the upward-moving winds, the downward-moving winds, and the winds that are devoid of acceptance and rejection. This is how they will investigate their bodies.

“They will then pursue their investigation further by focusing carefully on their minds. How will they do so? They will think, ‘The mind consciousness arises based on the mind as well as mental phenomena. In association with consciousness, name and form arise, followed by the six sense sources, the contact created by meeting, the experience of feeling, the strong attachment of craving, appropriation, becoming, birth, and old age and death. All those phenomena therefore arise based on mind consciousness. The mind consciousness does not come from the eastern direction, […] and it does not come from below. Mind consciousness ceases in the very instant it arises through the gathering of conditions—it does not last until the next moment. It ceases but does not go anywhere. It is devoid of composition.

All these phenomena arise based on conditions and cease when those conditions are incomplete. They all depend upon conditions, and they are therefore selfless. No creator, experiencer, producer, or activator can be found within those conditions, and those are therefore also selfless. That which is selfless is empty of I and mine. Why is it so? Because it is the nature of the mind. Since it does not remain eternally, and since it is devoid of disintegration, it is devoid of I and mine.’ All phenomena have the nature of arising and disintegrating, and they are devoid of acceptance and rejection. They have not been created by the hearers, by the solitary buddhas, or by the thus-gone ones. The mind is naturally and intrinsically selfless. That which is selfless is empty, and all phenomena are selfless by way of not being apprehended. Similarly, by training until reaching the gateway of liberation of the absence of marks, they will eliminate the foundation of attachment as well as the afflictions that arise on its basis. At that moment, some of them will realize the first truth, and some others will realize the other truths up to the fourth one. Since the wise ones cannot find a self when they look for it, they will directly perceive phenomena by way of the absence of self.

“Śāriputra, since the wise ones abide by emptiness, the absence of marks, and the absence of wishes, they are worthy to be revered, worshiped, protected, remembered, and trusted by Lord Śakra and by everyone else.

They are worthy to be revered, worshiped, protected, and remembered by everyone from Lord Brahmā to the rulers of the gods, the rulers of the nāgas, the rulers of the yakṣas, the rulers of the asuras, the rulers of the garuḍas, the rulers of the kinnaras, and the rulers of the mahoragas. They are also worthy to be trusted by the human rulers.

“Śāriputra, that dhāraṇī mantra peaceful core of knowledge was conferred upon me by the thus-gone Glorious Essence of Flowers through the bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha. It induces faith in The Quintessence of the Sun, which I expound in this great assembly. That dhāraṇī mantra peaceful core of knowledge is powerful and beneficial—it benefits all sentient beings. It completely cures all diseases and subdues all afflictions. It generates knowledge of all the aggregates, elements, and sense sources, it causes one to discern all phenomena, it reveals all skillful means, and it uncovers the entirety of the happiness of emancipation. It induces faith in all sentient beings, causes one to enter the happiness related to all qualities, overcomes all māras and enemies in accordance with the Dharma, and destroys all the domains of the māras. It annihilates the māras and vanquishes the enemies, pleases the gods, delights the yakṣas, overcomes the asuras, pleases the garuḍas, causes the kinnaras to develop faith,

and puts the mahoragas to flight. It delights the members of the kṣatriya class, induces comprehension in the brāhmaṇas, satisfies the vaiśyas, and utterly pleases the śūdras. It frees women from their desires, releases pregnant women into happiness and well-being, induces recollection in the scholars, and delights the spiritual practitioners. It pacifies all sicknesses, quarrels, fights, famines, epidemics, diseases, hostile armies, untimely winds, rains, floods, cold, heat, snow, and heat waves, and it softens all substances that are harsh, rough, and difficult to touch. It causes the way of the Dharma to blaze, reveals the teachings of the buddhas, and ensures that the lineage of the Three Jewels remains uninterrupted. It provides relief to those who are afraid of saṃsāra, generates the knowledge of exhaustion, actualizes the knowledge of the unborn, overcomes all the dense darkness of ignorance, and removes the burden of suffering. This great teaching of the peaceful core of knowledge purifies the karmic actions of sentient beings. It leads them beyond the ways of the māras and causes them to enter the domain of the buddhas. It provides control over all phenomena, it perfects the eighteen unique qualities of the buddhas, and it turns the wheel of the Dharma. It causes the Dharma rain to fall, it ripens all sentient beings, and it leads to unsurpassed parinirvāṇa. This is the great teaching of the peaceful core of knowledge.”

As this teaching was being given by the Blessed One, an innumerable and limitless number of gods and humans present there, those whose karmic obscurations generated in the past were not yet exhausted, attained the eye of Dharma that is immaculate and spotless with regard to phenomena. The minds of myriads of beings were liberated from their defilements with no further grasping. At that time, seven hundred thousand beings attained the dhāraṇī mantra peaceful core of knowledge and would no longer regress from the three vehicles. An innumerable and limitless number of gods and humans gave rise to the mind set on unsurpassed and perfect awakening and would no longer regress on the path to unsurpassed and perfect awakening. Also, eighty-four thousand beings reached the acceptance of the unborn nature of phenomena.

After the beings present throughout this entire buddha realm of Sahā received these teachings on the meaning of those four dhāraṇī mantras—the dhāraṇī mantra that accords with the truth, the dhāraṇī mantra that accords with emptiness, the dhāraṇī mantra that accords with the absence of wishes, and the dhāraṇī mantra peaceful core of knowledge—all attachments related to the desire realm, the form realm, shape, contact, longing, and the formless realm of an innumerable and limitless number of them were exhausted, and their defects became clear to them. Some produced the roots of virtue of repulsiveness, while others gave rise to the six spheres, the spheres of mastery, the spheres of totality, the mindfulness of breathing,

tranquility, special insight, the first concentration, the other particular concentrations up to the fourth one, the formless attainments, the acceptance that accords with the truth, the level of the family, and the qualities of the eighth level. Some others also produced the roots of virtue that are common to the hearers, the roots of virtue that are common to the solitary buddhas, and the roots of virtue related to omniscient wisdom, as well as the common absorptions, acceptance, and recall.

At that time, when ninety-one trillion women listened one-pointedly to this teaching with the understanding that the female condition is flawed, their female genitals disappeared, and instead they developed male genitals. Likewise, the female genitals disappeared on nine hundred ninety million goddesses, eighty-four thousand female nāgas, eighty-six thousand female yakṣas, eighty-four female asuras, seventy thousand female garuḍas, twelve trillion female kinnaras, one thousand female mahoragas, ninety trillion female pretas, and forty-two trillion female piśācas, and they all developed male genitals. Pregnant women were filled with supreme physical and mental happiness. Even within the animal realms, beings gave birth to male and female offspring without experiencing any form of physical harm or mental distress. These babies were born with unimpaired faculties, perfect physical forms,

the power of recall, and the ability to remember past lives, and they were all endowed with courage, endurance, and insight. All the diseases that could prevent pregnant women from giving birth were completely pacified, and the children in their wombs obtained that same level of well-being. After attaining such physical and mental well-being, the baby boys and girls were born with perfect ease. Their appearances were perfect, they possessed the supreme power of recall and the ability to remember their past lives, and they were endowed with courage, endurance, and insight.

Then all the gods, nāgas, yakṣas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, pretas, piśācas, kumbhāṇḍas, pūtanas, humans, and nonhumans applauded and exclaimed, “Blessed One, this is excellent! Today the Thus-Gone One has turned the wheel of the Dharma that had never been heard before. It purifies the karmic obscurations of mental concepts, it liberates from saṃsāra, it purifies all destinies in existence, and it brings satisfaction through the nectar of emancipation. This is truly amazing! Today, the Thus-Gone One has showered down a Dharma rain that illuminates all buddha realms. He has done so in order to protect all those beings who have reached maturity, to purify all their defilements, to bring about their attainment of the eye of supreme insight, and to ensure that the lineage of the Three Jewels remains uninterrupted. We shall worship the Thus-Gone One to the best of our ability!”

Besides those who were exerting themselves in absorption,

all the gods and the others up to the pūtanas offered divine music and played instruments to worship the Blessed One. They showered down a rain of divine golden powder as well as rains of divine flowers, perfume, incense, fine cloths, Dharma robes, ornaments, and divine flower garlands. To worship the Blessed One, who was like the rising sun, they also tossed precious flowers, perfumes, incense, fine cloths, and garlands.

Chapter Five

The Protection

Then, together with their respective retinues, all the rulers of the gods, the rulers of the nāgas, the rulers of the yakṣas, the rulers of the asuras, the rulers of the garuḍas, the rulers of the kinnaras, the rulers of the mahoragas, the rulers of the pretas, the rulers of the piśācas, and the rulers of the pūtanas bowed with their palms joined together in the direction of the Blessed One and said, “Respected Blessed One, in all the places where monks, nuns, male and female lay practitioners, or faithful sons or daughters of noble family observe this initial practice of repulsiveness up to the absorption of cessation while contemplating the virtuous factors that have just been described, we shall regard them—up to the faithful daughters of noble family—together with their retinues as the teachers of their own respective classes.

We shall serve all of them through body, speech, and mind, and we shall ensure that they never lack Dharma robes, alms, bedding, medicine, and requisites. We shall liberate them from the fifteen unsettling dangers. What are those fifteen?⁵⁵ We shall liberate them from the unsettling dangers related to the body. We shall liberate them from dirt, sticks, weapons, poison, stones, hostile beings, abusive beings, and faithless beings. We shall liberate them from disturbances in the elements. We shall protect those who serve them with offerings of delicious food and beverages, medicine, and requisites. We shall protect all such righteous sponsors, relatives, and benefactors from the unsettling dangers caused by diseases, enemies, bhūtas, and foes. We shall protect them from the unsettling dangers caused by poison, kings, civil war, invasion, and famine. Those are the fifteen unsettling dangers.

“We shall regard as our own family members all present and future monks, nuns, male and female lay practitioners, and faithful sons or daughters of noble family—even those who merely maintain an imitation of the sacred Dharma—as well as those who abide by this initial practice of repulsiveness up to the absorption of cessation and who sleeplessly exert themselves during the first and last parts of the night in the endeavors that have been described before.

We shall regard the regions, cities, countries, mountain hamlets, towns, capitals, and solitary places where they reside as the dwelling places of our own families. We shall avert and repel those fifteen unsettling dangers. We shall regard as the dwelling place of our own families any region where even just one single person who applies effort in such virtuous deeds resides, even if that person remains there for only a single day. We shall protect and defend those persons against those fifteen unsettling dangers. We shall regard those almsgivers, benefactors, members of the kṣatriya class, brāhmaṇas, vaiśyas, śūdras, men, women, boys, and girls as members of our own groups. We shall protect and defend them against those fifteen unsettling dangers. We shall also protect and defend against these unsettling dangers those who venerate, worship, and serve others who exert themselves in such virtuous endeavors by offering them houses, temples, monastic compounds, land, Dharma robes, alms, bedding, medicine, and tools. We shall protect and defend those pregnant women who show respect to such people, ensuring that they always remain safe and free from disease and experience many intense joys. We shall also protect from and defend against those fifteen unsettling dangers anyone who supplicates with affection those who exert themselves in such genuine contemplations,

anyone who proclaims their names, anyone who ties the string,⁵⁶ anyone who protects them, anyone who opposes nonvirtuous deeds, and anyone who incites others to engage in virtuous deeds.

“We shall send humans and nonhumans to oppose any human or nonhuman beings who intend to ignore the words of those persons who strive in properly contemplating such virtuous endeavors, as well as those who intend to disregard, abuse, oppose, harm, or utterly corrupt⁵⁷ those persons and harbor ill will toward them. We shall not tolerate them. Those sentient beings who intend to ignore the words of those who strive in properly contemplating such virtuous endeavors and those sentient beings who intend to disregard, abuse, oppose, harm, or harbor ill will toward those persons and utterly corrupt them will experience fifteen harms. What are those fifteen? They will experience (1) the suffering of quickly becoming sick, (2) the suffering related to the loss of their wealth, (3) the suffering related to the deterioration of their possessions, (4) the suffering of their main and secondary limbs being cut off, (5) the suffering of being separated from their beloved retinues, (6) the suffering related to the decline of their power, (7) the suffering related to their dwelling places, (8) the suffering of being crushed by enemies, (9) the suffering of being constantly disturbed in their minds, (10) the suffering related to their realm, (11) the suffering related to disturbances caused by the members of the kṣatriya class,

(12) the suffering related to disturbances caused by thieves, (13) the suffering related to the disturbances caused by women, (14) the suffering related to the quick exhaustion of their lifespan, and (15) the suffering of death. Those sentient beings will quickly experience those harms.

“Even if those sentient beings who intend to ignore the words of those who strive in properly contemplating in this way or who intend to disregard, abuse, oppose, harm, or harbor ill will toward those persons and utterly corrupt them take refuge in us out of fear and eagerly serve us with substances to accomplish a variety of mantras, we shall not accept such acts of service to fulfill their purposes, and we shall not give refuge to them. We shall not accomplish their activities or benefit them.

“There will be troublemakers—from gods and nāgas up to kaṭapūtanas—who are hostile, ruthless, ungrateful, and unafraid of the afterlife. In the wilderness, in forests, in remote places, in hermitages, in charnel grounds, under trees, in monastic compounds, in temples, in houses, and along walking lanes, they will approach those persons who strive in properly contemplating such virtuous endeavors. With hostile attitudes they will have the intention to harm them. They will cause disturbances to their bodies and minds, and they will rob their vital essences. Those beings—from gods and nāgas up to kaṭapūtanas—who are hostile, ungrateful,

and unafraid of the afterlife will even cause disturbances to the bodies and minds of those persons’ attendants and benefactors and rob their vital essences. Barring circumstances related to previous actions, if we do not stand against, oppose, and punish each of those beings—from gods and nāgas up to kaṭapūtanas—for their crimes, we will deceive all the thus-gone ones of the three times. While circling in saṃsāra, may we in that case never become proper vessels for the domains of the hearers, the solitary buddhas, or the thus-gone ones, and may we never achieve the happiness of emancipation!”

The Blessed One replied, “Noble sons, your commitment to make the Dharma way of all the thus-gone ones of the three times blaze and ensure that the lineage of the Three Jewels remains uninterrupted is excellent! Please do that! By doing so, you will worship and serve all the thus-gone ones of the three times. The noble sons who employ such diligence and determination to protect the well-spoken Dharma and Vinaya, as well as those who follow it and abide by the Dharma, will enjoy abundance and excellence while circling in saṃsāra. They will never experience the suffering of saṃsāra, and they will swiftly awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood. Therefore, since you feel aversion for suffering and wish for happiness, please act in that way! Your commitment to such wholesome activities is excellent!”

At that moment,

the innumerable and limitless number of nonhuman bhūtas who feed on vital essences and blood said, “Respected Blessed One, we are not humans. We feed on vital essences as well as flesh and blood. We shall not harm the Thus-Gone One’s hearers. Respected Blessed One, if we were to harm the hearers who contemplate the practice of repulsiveness that the Blessed One has taught today, may we lose our composure! May we lose our ability to reach any domain of power! We shall protect such persons, and we shall protect and defend their attendants and benefactors as well. We shall also protect, defend, guard, and look after those who support the Thus-Gone One’s hearers who abide by the Dharma and contemplate the practice of repulsiveness, and those who offer them temples, lands, monastic compounds, Dharma robes, alms, bedding, and medicinal substances.”

“Excellent, delightful beings, excellent!” replied the Blessed One, “Please do that!”

Then, the earth goddess Sthāvarā said, “Respected Blessed One, I shall provide the vitality of this vast earth to sustain the bodies of the Thus-Gone One’s hearers who abide by the Dharma and strive in the practice of repulsiveness.

Thereby, those who abide by the Dharma and exert themselves in such absorptions will become endowed with a majestic appearance, beautiful complexion, recollection, diligence, and insight.”

“Great benefactress,” replied the Blessed One, “with such alms you will satisfy my children, my heart children, who are born from my mouth, who are endowed with the Dharma, and who are emanated from the Dharma. This is excellent! Through this act of great generosity, you will perfect the Great Vehicle!”

Śrī Mahādevī then said, “Respected Blessed One, I will ensure that all almsgivers and benefactors of those who abide by the Dharma never lack merriment, wealth, grains, fruits, resources, and wealth. I will take care of those people who offer temples, grounds, lands, Dharma robes, alms, bedding, and medicinal substances in order to maintain, support, and look after those who day and night contemplate the practice of repulsiveness up to the absorption of cessation. I will make sure that they possess an abundance of tools, resources, and possessions and that they experience a bounty of physical and mental well-being, as well as happiness and pleasure. I will ensure that they never separate from those who are worthy recipients of generosity and that they always remain associated with them. I will ensure that their minds remain delighted by the Dharma,